IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 18TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2019 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MRS.JUSTICE S.SUJATHA W.P.No.41308/2018 (CS – EL/M) BETWEEN :
THOMAS RODRIGUES S/O LATE PAUL LUDIRIES AGED ABOUT 49 YEARS R/AT AIRODY VILLAGE & POST UDUPI TALUK & DISTRICT UDUPI-576226. ...PETITIONER (BY SRI PAVAN CHANDRA SHETTY, ADV.) AND :
1. DERICK DSOUZA S/O MANVAL DSOUZA AGED ABOUT 48 YEARS R/AT MANRIK’S NEST SOUZA COMPOUND, NH 66 PANDESHWARA VILLAGE, SASTHAN POST UDUPI TALUK & DISTRICT-576226.
2. SASTHAN CO-OPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY SASTHAN, UDUPI TALUK & DISTRICT-576226 REP. BY ITS SPECIAL OFFICER ARUN KUMAR.S.V.
3. ELECTION OFFICER SASTHAN CO-OPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, SASTHAN UDUPI TALUK & DISTRICT-576226.
4. THE REGISTRAR OF CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES UDUPI TALUK & DISTRICT UDUPI-576226.
5. THE TAHSILDAR BRAHMAVARA TALUK UDUPI DISTRICT-576213. …RESPONDENTS (BY SRI K.CHANDRASHEKAR ACHAR, ADV. FOR R-1; R-2 TO R-5 – SERVED BUT UNREPRESENTED) THIS W.P. IS FILED UNDER ARTICLES 226 AND 227 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA PRAYING TO QUASH THE PROCESS OF ELECTION AND THE DECLARATION OF RESULTS BY RESPONDENT No.3 OF THE ELECTION OF MANAGING COMMITTEE MEMBERS OF SASTHAN CO- OPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, RESPONDENT No.2 HEREIN, HELD ON 05.08.2018, PRODUCED HEREWITH AS ANNEXURE-E AND ETC., THIS PETITION COMING ON FOR ORDERS, THIS DAY, THE COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING:
O R D E R The petitioner has called in question the legality and correctness of the process of Election of Managing Committee members of Sasthan Co-operative Agricultural Society (for short ’the Society’) – respondent No.2, held on 5.8.2018 inter alia seeking a direction to the respondent No.2 to conduct re-election of Managing Committee members of the Society-respondent No.2, after publishing fresh calendar of events.
2. The petitioner is a member of the Society- respondent No.2 and is an unsuccessful candidate having contested in the election for the post of Managing Committee Members of the Society. Indisputably, the election results of the said Society were declared on 5.8.2018.
3. The petitioner is challenging the process of election based on the caste certificate issued by the competent Authority alleged to be not in terms of the conditions stipulated at Annexure-A.
4. It is a well settled law that no dispute regarding the election matters can be entertained by this Court, more particularly, in view of the alternative and efficacious remedy available under Section 70 of the Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act, 1959, whereby it is contemplated that any dispute arising in connection with the election of a President, Vice-President or any office- bearer or Member of board of the Society, shall be deemed to be the dispute touching the constitution, management, or the business of a Co-operative Society and such dispute shall be referred to the Registrar for decision who shall have the jurisdiction to entertain any suit or other proceedings in respect of such dispute.
5. The dispute now raised by the petitioner in as much as the elections concluded, based on the caste certificates issued by the competent Authority could not be adjudicated in the writ jurisdiction. It is for the petitioner to seek redressal of the grievance before the appropriate forum, if aggrieved by the process of election based on such caste certificate.
6. This view is fortified by the order of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Umesh Shivappa Ambi and others vs. Angadi Shekara Basappa and others, reported in (1998) 4 SCC 529, wherein the Hon’ble Apex Court has held thus:-
“4. It is now well settled that once an election is over, the aggrieved candidate will have to pursue his remedy in accordance with the provisions of law and this (sic High) Court will not ordinarily interfere with the elections under Article 226 of the Constitution. (See in this connection para 3 in K.K. Shrivastava v. Bhupendra Kumar Jain.) The Court will not ordinarily interfere where there is an appropriate or equally efficacious remedy available, particularly in relation to election disputes. In the present case, under Section 70(2)(C) of the Karnataka Cooperative Societies Act, 1959 any dispute arising in connection with the election of a President, Vice-President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer or member of Committee of the Society has to be referred to the Registrar by raising a dispute before him. The Registrar is required to decide this in accordance with law.”
Hence, the writ petition is not maintainable, accordingly stands dismissed with liberty to the petitioner to resort to appropriate proceedings in accordance with law.
Sd/- JUDGE Dvr: